When I started in business the Humane Society was giving rabies pre-exposure shots to all of their people. I asked if I could get

them and they were happy to oblige. The cost was less than $50 and nobody believed that I could 3 shots for less than the serum

cost but I'm sure I got a deal through the humane society. Anyway, a friend of mine had a technician that got bit by a raccoon and

he went to the emergency ward for his shots. Guess how much those shots were? He got a bill for $21,000.00. I told him to make a

couple of phone calls and I guess he got it knocked down, but 21 grand, seriously?

Just got the news, for me its going to be about $800 for the pre exposure. Now I am considering just dieing of rabies.

Ouch Wink!

That sounds like a rough deal, though life is of course priceless, $20K can sure set someone back in many ways.....

Gotta love the medical field, must be like the guy who can find the squeaky stair and fix with the .01 nail, the doc must have
some special power to put that magic potion in the right spot and over the right number of days that no lesser skilled person can do...

Oh wait, it typically is a nurse isn't it that puts it in?



Someone is making some bank somewhere on that deal!

Just talked with a family that had to have the post-exposure shots. 12k each person. This was 3 weeks ago. (Bat in home, people asleep, bat tested positive for rabies).

Cost 750.00 for three shots two months ago at health dept. My insurance covered all but my co-pay. This was pre- exposure

Kurt Temple

Travel clinics that give shots for international travel have lower costs in my area. A colleague mentioned this about his own post exposure, I think it was $250.00 percent per shot, so more than some here but no where near the thousands being reported.

Worth looking into for pre or post.

Man you guys sure pay for that sort of thing , I got post exposure shots for free

So the employers bet was 1000.00 up front for pre exposure shots against 21,000.00 for post exposure which may never happen? Did they even have bite gloves on there trucks? Will this raise his workmen' s comp insurance?
Why not set up a employee payment plan to pay off the cost of the shots to the employer by having a weekly amount taken out of payroll check, and make it a condition of getting the job. Or they get shot before being hired.
Does this not open the employer to a possible law suit or a OSHA visit for not making sure the employee could safety do the job, since rabies is a known safety hazard in many states.
Just askin....

Kurt Temple

Good questions Kurt! This should be interesting.

I'm not a doctor, but this is what I know so far, if things have changed, then I may no longer be correct. Pre-exposure shots were

different and you never really knew if you were completely protected unless you were tittered ( Tested ). On the bright side, you are

always somewhat protected and may just need a booster if you are bitten by a rabid animal. My son P.J. was given post exposure shots

to the tune of $4000.00 but was also told that he would be protected for life. Like I said, things may have changed but I know the

collective minds on this site are have better information about rabies than any of the collective minds of doctors in our area.

Bite gloves don't work 100%, handled a rough looking raccoon back in April, tooth went through a sew hole in the left glove & found me. went to ER & found the county pays for post exposure shots.

It was suggested to me to get tested each year to make sure its still valid protection. If bite happens you get 2 or three more shots. Seems the post exposures shots must be a different med and cost much more. Not sure what type you get and cost if you have had the pre exposure shots.
trapdye,
It sounds like a design flaw in the glove which brand was it? Did you contact the seller or manufacturer


Kurt Temple

FWIW: Any Veteran can get the pre-exposure shots at the VAMC. Tell your primary care Doc that you handle wild animals, and NEED the shots. May have to argue a bit and go see the Patients Advocate, and/or a VA Rep, but don't take no for an answer.
If your not registered in the VAMC system, do so, you never know when your gonna need it.

Justin, you are right about Kurt's questions being interesting. Since no raccoons tested in the state of Wisconsin have ever come

back positive for rabies, this puts an additional twist on law suits and OSHA. If my previous post is correct, the post exposure

rabies shot is the most effective one anyway so I doubt there would be any problems unless you failed to provide those shots after

someone is bitten.

Kurt in Va, Don't think it was a flaw in the glove, just bad luck to hit a sew hole & a tooth made it through. I was told when shots were given, 9 because they go by weight, that if bitten again, I would need a booster shot. must be a different med for pre. & post shots as you said , some say with pre. shots you just get your level check every couple years

In regard to OSHA, I'd think that it is not a requirement for an employer to get shots for their employees (I was told this was the result from OSHA when this question was asked by several large companies). With that being said, the employer is response to ensure that the employee is provided with personal protection equipment for performing their task. This includes not only the respirator, but also the annual pulmonary test to ensure the employee is healthy enough to wear it and the annual fit test to ensure the respirator fits correctly. Additionally, the employer is responsible for providing eye and hearing protection, gloves, capture and confinement equipment, fall protection, and any additional equipment and materials required to complete the job. Additionally, the employer must have a training program related to bat work and be able to show proof that the employee has gone through the training program. (This is where companies hiring day help for clean outs are really taking chances.)

Should a bite happen, in most cases I'd believe nothing would happen as it is a health department/worker's comp issue. Based on how big of a company you have, there may or may not be OSHA paperwork involved.

Where it gets more difficult is when the bite is not reported to the employer or it is reported and the employer does nothing and then issues occur at some other time down the road. The training program now becomes very important as it is something the employer can show to prove that they didn't just send someone into an attic with a bat problem telling them to figure it out as they go. I'm not saying that the employer wouldn't get fined by OSHA as there are too many other factors including supervision, how in-depth the training program is, etc., but at the very least it would help against a law suit by the employee or their family.

My last job as an employee I wrote two OSHA programs. One for a business office and one for a hotel. Very different with some cross over, here is what I learned.

There are some good DVD programs to walk you step by step through it. Also good info on OSHA site.

The MSDS book you have to create is a lot of work, once done do not allow employee's to bring any chemicals to work.
It makes it easier keeping the MSDS book current.

Train for everything your required too and keep all training in files and up to date.

You do have rights as an employer on how a visit from OSHA is handled, learn them.

There is a standard that has to do with chemicals. Hazard Communication Standard I think its called, make sure your employees are trained to it, and all your labeling and storage meet it.

Since half or more is construction type work make sure your meeting that standard, ladder safety, roof work, man lift work.
Last they told us in class that a new law was passed because companies were taking fines instead of creating the safety programs. They can now send owners and managers to jail for non compliance for not having a program. An incentive of sorts.

Hope some of this helps you.

Kurt Temple

No, not free. The government charged everyone a part of the outrageous fee. Rather than grinning, you should be ashamed. Some people just don't get it.

DuxDawg, I think you should have looked at where coonwild is from. I don't think we really care about the government of Canada and

they probably don't charge our outrageous fees in the first place.

From what I understand Rabies Post Exposure shots ARE NOT covered under Workers Comp. The illogical logic behind this is that Workers Comp covers an injury, disease, or malady that you have definitively experienced while working.

The Post exposure shots are a preventive measure. Unless you can confirm that the animal had rabies, you can't confirm that the tech has been exposed to the virus and Workers Comp doesn't cover treatments that simply act as a vaccination. Now once you start showing symptoms (actually have the disease), Workers Comp will cover your hospice care!!!

I could be totally off base on this and hope I am, but that is what I was told. Workers Comp covers NO preventative treatments.